please help me i have a problem with my clutch. it seems to have happened because of the colder weather but it did not happen last winter. the clutch pedal is spongy and i have a hard time going into gear and sometimes it does not. i pump the clutch pedal and brakes and it gets better. could someone please help. i have a f-150 4x4 5.0 with a mazda manual od transmision. thanks alot

 

You say that sometimes you can't get in gear. If you find a flat spot, stop, turn off the engine, put it in 1st, press the cluch pedal and start the truck without applying the brakes, does the truck move?
I had a similar problem on my 90 F-150 with the Mazda and it turned out to be my pressure plate.

But if you pump the clutch and it improves, like you said, then your problem could be the master cylinder and or slave cylinder. The master cylinders get an internal leak where they bypass the valve. I had to replace mine a few months ago, and did the slave at the time.

If nothing else, check the level of fluid in your master cylinder (the little black one next to the Brake Master Cylinder) it should be at the top of the ridges. If it's low, put in some DOT3 brake fluid and see if it improves.

 

I had a similar problem in an 88 F-150 with the same tranny. With my truck, it progressively got tougher to shift into gear. The master cylinder was weeping a little out of the main pushrod seal. Whenever I added fluid, it got better for a short time. Soon however, I found it was continually hard to shift. While looking at the firewall, I noticed that the plate that the MC bolts to was separating from the firewall as there are no bolts to hold the top of the plate in place. So out came the arc welder, and I laid a weld to join the two pieces of metal. Low and behold, it shifts much better. Basically the clutch was not disengaging fully, as the MC was flexing outward when I depressed the pedal, instead of pump that extra little bit of fluid into the line. Still have a MC that is starting to go, but hey, it still shifts pretty dang good, so that piece is not going to get replaced until it leaks heavily, orthe tranny blows.

 

First thing to do is check the fluid level for you clutch. There is hydraulic fluid reservoir to the left of the brake fluid reservoir, looking at the truck from the front end. Make sure there is fluid in this. If there isn't then your hyrdaulic slave cylinder isn't getting the fluid it needs to function. I am pretty sure this is what your problem is.

 

Hi, if the master cylinder is low check under the truck right under the bell housing if you see leakage it could very well be the throw out bearing my brothers 89 had this problem of hard shifting and it was the throw out bearing it seams ford uses the hydraulic clutch but some of them didn't have a slave unit it was actually the throw out bearing. john i967mustang(No Email Addresses In Posts!)

 

well i added brake fluid to the clutch resivior and the truck shifted fine for about a week . the it started agin at work in the parking lot yesterday. it has gotten worse. when you were looking at the firewall were you looking from the top of the engine or from underkneath or from inside under the dash?

 

>Hi, if the master cylinder is
>low check under the truck
>right under the bell housing
>if you see leakage it
>could very well be the
>throw out bearing my brothers
>89 had this problem of
>hard shifting and it was
>the throw out bearing it
>seams ford uses the hydraulic
>clutch but some of them
>didn't have a slave unit
>it was actually the throw
>out bearing.
>
> john i967mustang(No Email Addresses In Posts!)
>
I think what John means here is some Ford trannies (T-18, T-19) use an external slave cylinder with separate throwout bearing while other Ford trannies (ZF, Mazda) use an internal slave cylinder with integral throwout bearing. Internal meaning the slave cylinder is inside the bellhousing so the tranny must be pulled to change it out.

DannyP
89 F-150 4x4 former EFI I-6 now carbed 351W, Edelbrock heads,cam,intake,carb.
MSD 6A, ZF, Sterling 10.25 with 3.55L's.

 

I just replaced the Clutch Master Cylinder in my 88 F-150. Mine was leaking outside under the hood, & the fluid was running down the outside of the firewall. This is a kind of tough job, Ford didn't design this part of the truck without smoking some really good stuff first! I bought a Lifetime warranty Clutch master cylinder from Autozone for $60, and it's not plastic like the original one. This one's made out of metal, I tore my original one apart because I wanted to use the original push rod, due to the clutch interlock. It comes with an adjustable push rod, but I figured the original one would be better.



"You can always tell a Chevy owner, You just can't tell them very much."

 

my 1992 F-150 w/ a manual 4 spd has a very simalar problem, but i know the cause of my woes is that the mecanic who replaced the clutch did not replace the throwout bearing. it may seem to get better as you pump the pedal but it is possible you are just catching a less-worn spot on the bearing. if this does turn out to be the problem, you could always do the job the right way and replace the bad parts, or you could halfass it like i did and cut a 6" length of master cylender pushrod out and weld in a threaded rod and threaded pipe to lengthen and shorten the pushrod as needed. or, you could leave it as it is because it will take forever and a day to burn up the plates now as it is near impossible to get the clutch to slip.

on a sidenote, anyone reading this in search of an answer to their clutch problem may want to check the plastic bushing that sits inbetween the pedal assembly (up under the dash twards the middle of the truck) and the master cylinder pushrod (attached to the pedal assembly). oftentimes the bushing wears out and pretty much desintegrates, so there is a 1/8" gap between the two.

 

well i fixed it without replacing anything. i got under the truck and i found the clutch sslave cylinder is inside the bell housing. i found the bleedeer and i used my hand held 25.00 dollar vacuum pump bleeder i bled and bled. the clutch fluid was very mucky. i kept flushing and adding and when it came clear i bled all the air out. good ol ford. she shifts smooth and tight now. its been about a week with no problems. thanks for all the help and iam another ford enthusiast happy customer. see ya all